Blades hit Hammers with £50m Tevez case

The club believe they are victims of a miscarriage of justice after the Premier League opted not to dock West Ham points over the Carlos Tevez affair.

Action: United's plc chairman Kevin McCabe

Sheffield United estimate the cost of their relegation at between £30m-50m and claim they have new evidence concerning West Ham's termination of Tevez's third-party ownership.

A United spokesman said: "After consideration and discussion with our legal advisers we are today initiating legal proceedings against West Ham. We are seeking substantial compensation for our relegation from the Premier League.

"This action is distinct from the arbitration proceedings between the club and the Premier League during the close season.

"We have always said we will do everything in our power to secure justice for United and restore the integrity of English football which has been tarnished by this affair."

In a bid to avoid court action, United are seeking West Ham's agreement to go to arbitration through the Football Association in order to settle their claim.

The Blades recently failed in a High Court bid to force the Premier League to take disciplinary action against West Ham.

United's plc chairman Kevin McCabe took their case to the High Court after an arbitration panel rejected their claim against the Premier League, which failed to deduct points from the Hammers over the transfers of Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

West Ham pleaded guilty at a Premier League hearing last April to breaking the rules over third-party ownership and acting in bad faith towards the authorities.

The club were fined a record £5.5m by the League's three-man commission but, crucially, they escaped a points deduction.

Tevez went on to play a key part in West Ham's survival battle even though United complained at the time he should have been ineligible.

The Blades claim West Ham gained an unfair advantage last season and want Eggert Magnusson's club to be penalised further.

West Ham are waiting until they received notice of any legal action from United's lawyers, before making a statement.

The £50m compensation claim is unprecedented in English football, but sports lawyer Mel Goldberg believes the Championship club have a potentially strong case.

He said: "I think Sheffield United have a real chance of success. They will argue the proper penalty was not imposed by the Premier League in April. The current West Ham board said then the third-party agreements which had influence on the player were carried out by the previous regime.

"But it now turns out there are signed documents relating to the player from December 2006 - Eggert Magnusson took over control in November.

"Sheffield United will say the December documents were executed by the current owners and, if the court agrees, then I believe they will have a good claim for substantial damages."